American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) Short Interest Update

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) saw a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 750,700 shares, a drop of 12.3% from the June 15th total of 856,200 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 264,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Y. Murray purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $125.17 per share, with a total value of $150,204.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,204. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 14.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Financial Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,674 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of American Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Financial Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,939 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Financial Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in American Financial Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,196 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 64.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on American Financial Group from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of American Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $144.00 to $137.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.75.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE AFG traded up $0.71 on Monday, hitting $126.73. 301,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 307,133. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.16. American Financial Group has a 52-week low of $105.22 and a 52-week high of $137.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.79.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The insurance provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 11.03%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Financial Group will post 10.93 earnings per share for the current year.

American Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.18%.

American Financial Group Company Profile

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers' compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.